# 2014-195 - Claims Against the Crown

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2014–12–04

The grievor was removed from his graduation parade and his first posting was cancelled two days before he was due to move, on the basis of allegations of inappropriate conduct against him. These decisions were later reviewed by the chain of command and it was determined that there had been no grounds to remove the grievor and to cancel his posting.

The grievor submitted a grievance explaining that in anticipation of his imminent posting, his wife had resigned from her employment a few days before their scheduled move. He alleged that, due to the “wrongful removal” and cancellation of his posting, she had been unable to regain full-time employment and, as a result, he and his family had suffered a financial loss. The grievor requested an ex gratia payment to compensate for that loss.

The Initial Authority rejected the grievance as invalid, on the basis that the compensation requested by the grievor was for his wife's loss. The Final Authority disagreed and concluded that the grievor was personally prejudiced by the loss of his wife's wages and accepted the grievance.

While the Committee agreed that the grievor had suffered a prejudice as a result of his posting being cancelled, it noted that the grievor was not challenging any decision, action or omission, but rather, was submitting, on the basis of decisions already made, that he should be financially compensated for the income his family has lost. In the Committee's view, this represents a Claim against the Crown as the grievor is seeking damages for actions he feels the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are liable for.

The Committee nonetheless reviewed the file and noted that the chain of command had acknowledged that the decision to remove the grievor from parade at graduation and the cancellation of his posting were done with no clear evidence of any wrongdoing on his part. The Committee agreed that the decision had impacted the grievor and his family. It found that the CAF may bear some responsibility for the loss of income the grievor and his family suffered as a result of what appeared to be a hasty decision to cancel his posting.

The Committee recommended that the grievor's file be sent to the Director Claims and Civil Litigation for review as a possible Claim Against the Crown.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Date: 2015–12–02

Although the CDS agreed with most of the Committee's findings, he did not agree with the Committee's recommendation that the grievor's file be forwarded to DCCL with his support.